Only a few minutes before the press conference, his suggestion to hire Sachin Tendulkar as consultant for overseas tours was shot down by not just a top BCCI official but also by the representative of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.
Even as Ravi Shastri was addressing his first press conference as India chief coach on Tuesday and discussing the idea of having Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan on board as batting and bowling consultants respectively, something quite on the contrary had transpired prior to that.
Only a few minutes before the press conference, his suggestion to hire Sachin Tendulkar as consultant for overseas tours was shot down by not just a top BCCI official but also by the representative of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.
Shastri was reminded of the two-year contract he signed with BCCI. "All contracts which are being offered to anyone contracted or hired by BCCI now onwards has a clear mention of conflict of interest clause as per SC orders," a top Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official is said to told Shastri while rejecting his proposal.
Incidentally, Tendulkar is said to have been the one to convince Shastri to apply for the chief coach's job during the Champions Trophy in England. And according to insiders in the meeting, Shastri proposed Tendulkar's name soon after he got his way with the support staff on Tuesday.
Acting BCCI president CK Khanna, CEO Rahul Johri, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary and COA member Diana Edulji were present in the meeting when Shastri discussed Tendulkar's name.
"Shastri put forward the idea of having Sachin on board as a consultant for a very short period. But everyone present there reminded him about the conflict of interest clause which could hurt Sachin in the future too," an official told DNA on Wednesday.
Going by the logic, even if Tendulkar is allowed to be in the role of consultant with the team, then it would only force him to let go of his various other commitments with the BCCI, including the Indian Premier League.
"Forget Sachin as CAC member, isn't it a bigger loss to lose such big name for such little cause?" asked the senior official. When asked if that is also not the case with Khan, who has contractual obligations with other companies.
"To compensate Zaheer similarly for his short duration stint, between 50 to 75 days a year, BCCI will have to compensate him for his entire loss. That's why it was decided to discuss this matter in detail some other time," added the official.
Make money part public
A top BCCI official suggested that the information about salaries paid to various coaches and support staff be made public to end any speculations in this regard.
BCCI will be paying Shastri Rs 7.5 crore — Rs 1.25 crore more than his predecessor Anil Kumble — while the assistant coach Sanjay Bangar and bowling coach Bharat Arun will be given Rs 2.20 and Rs 2 crore respectively.
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